The Paul Gough Show

In today's podcast, I’m answering YOUR biggest questions about growing a profitable PT practice, overcoming the challenges holding you back, and what it really takes to build a business that gives you the freedom and lifestyle you deserve. Plus, with PPM Live just around the corner, I’m giving you a sneak peek at what’s coming to Orlando and why this could be the wake-up call so many clinic ow...

In today's podcast, I tackle one of the biggest challenges facing PT clinic owners right now: finding, hiring, and keeping GOOD people in a world where attitudes toward work, commitment, and personal responsibility are changing FAST. I share some brutally honest thoughts on the state of the PT profession, why so many business owners are frustrated with their teams, and what it REALLY takes to...

Today, I tackle the question nobody asks at business conferences: when your clinic becomes successful, do your friends and family get a claim on the lifestyle it created? I break down the Savannah James flight controversy and give you my verdict on whether a successful friend should be paying for the people around them I reveal the unspoken guilt and judgment that follows every successful clinic o...

Today, in the final of four sessions leading up to PPM 2026, I reveal why the $2 million clinic everyone brags about is the one nobody should actually want to own. I pull back the curtain on the real numbers behind an "impressive" $2 million clinic, and I ask the one question that shows whether you'd buy your own business if it were for sale tomorrow I reveal the new scorecard I use...

Today, I expose why the "obvious" fix for a busy clinic might be the most expensive mistake you can make, and what to check before you make it. Reveals the hidden math behind adding to your team that most clinic owners never run until it's too late Uncovers the handful of places in your clinic where money is quietly leaking out right now, and what to fix first 👉📘 Grab your FREE cop...

Today, I reveal why a PT sipping an iced matcha latte through a straw during a job interview is the least of your worries as a clinic owner. Discover the real red flag behind "unprofessional" interview behavior — and why it's not actually about the drink Find out why the location of your own interviews might be secretly sabotaging your ability to hold staff accountable later 👉📘 Gra...

Today, I break down the real-world warning signs that you've hired a bad PT, drawing on over 70 hires and 15+ years running a physical therapy business. Reveals the subtle red flags — from "it's not my job" to victim-mindset excuses like blaming pay demands on student loans — that separate great employees from bad ones Explains why professionalism doesn't guarantee good hires...

This one's about the question every clinic owner avoids: would your best PT actually stay if they had other options? Here's what I covered: The employment deal that used to work, and why it quietly stopped working The six things great PTs are evaluating whether they say it out loud or not What actually makes people leave (and it's rarely the reason owners think) 👉📘 Grab your FREE cop...

In the run-up to PPM, part one of a four-part series, I ask: Are you profitable enough to hire good staff? If not, what needs to change? Book your seat now for PPM Live: https://ppmlive26.com/ 👉📘 Grab your FREE copy of any one of my six best-selling marketing books right here: https://physiofunnels.com/free/ 📲 Follow Paul here: 🎙️ Paul Gough Podcast – https://www.paulgough.com/podcast/ 📘 Faceb...

Today, I break down three real-world business stories — Starbucks uniforms, Uber layoffs, and UK work-from-home laws — and what they reveal about the fight every clinic owner is now facing. Explains why employee "identity" demands (uniforms, individualism) are colliding with what businesses actually need to survive, using the Starbucks dress-code controversy and the Ed Sheeran opening-act backlash...

Today, six successful PT clinic owners divulge the mistakes, beliefs, and hard-won lessons that shaped their businesses. Reveals candid confessions on firing top-producing toxic employees, going nearly six figures into debt, and the marketing tactics (newspaper ads, $150K salaries, sales scripts) they once thought were bullshit, but now swear by Uncovers why revenue without profit almost sank seve...

In today's episode, I am live at the PPM LIVE Official Press Conference.... I hired a luxury hotel in Orlando and invited a select group of very successful PT Clinic Owners, and the PRESS, to ask me some tough questions about the future of the PT Profession. The questions was centered around one big discussion: "Is the PT Profession in Crisis in 2026 - and if so, what do YOU need to do ab...

Today, I break down the staff comments that are quietly driving clinic owners to their breaking point — and what's really behind them. Reveals the real pattern behind entitled staff attitudes, and why it's not insurance or the economy that's killing your clinic's growth Breaks down why insecurity — in owners and employees alike — is the hidden root of nearly every "my staff PT pissed me off" story...

Today, I break down why patients quietly quit on their PTs, and how giving out too many exercises can be doing more harm than good. Revealing a blind spot most clinic owners never catch until it's too late Breaking down the simple shift that separates practices patients stay loyal to from the ones they quietly leave 👉📘 Grab your FREE copy of any one of my six best-selling marketing books right h...

In this one, I rant about why holding onto the wrong tasks is quietly wrecking clinic owners' businesses, using the mechanic phone-tag story and a mother-and-ironing analogy to make the point. Uncovering the real reason business owners keep holding onto low-value work — and what it's secretly costing them Breaking down a simple test to spot where your time is misallocated before it turns into a mu...

Today, I break down why avoiding marketing and outreach is quietly bankrupting clinic owners, and why workshops are outperforming digital ads right now. Explained that success comes down to a binary choice — go do the "ground game" (networking, referrals, in-person relationships) or master direct marketing (Google, Facebook, email) — and that avoiding both out of fear or comfort is what's actually...

Today, I made the case that patients don't pay for research or clinical credentials — they pay for "the magic," and that's the real litmus test for whether a PT is worth what they're asking for. Introduced two litmus tests for a PT's true value: how many patients specifically call and ask for them by name, and how much of a fuss gets kicked up when you try to move them to another provider Argued t...

Today, I tackled the question "Why don't my staff PTs respect me?" — tracing it back to a self-respect problem in the business owner rather than the employees themselves. Explained why respect from staff starts with an owner's own self-belief, and broke down the cultural shift since 2005 where employees stopped automatically respecting "the boss" Unpacked how entitled, "why should I?" attitudes tr...

Today, I broke down why detachment — not attachment — is the key to being a good parent, boss, and business owner, using the parallel between raising kids and managing staff to make the point. Explained that trying to change someone's attitude is a losing game, since beliefs are ~88% fixed, and the real job is to observe, offer a nudge, and let people self-select in or out Argued that owners get e...

Today, I dug into whether staff PT attitude is costing clinic owners money, breaking down where attitude actually comes from and why you can never train it away. Explained that attitude is a manifestation of belief systems (88% fixed for life), so performance plans and "attitude correction" courses are futile — you either tolerate it or cut the person loose Argued that owners and employees are cla...

Today, I broke down whether staff PTs should out-earn clinic owners, using reactions from a Facebook debate to unpack the "and life" mindset that separates thriving business owners from those stuck blaming insurance companies and the marketplace for their problems. Explained why owners deserve a CEO-level salary plus profit, and called out the excuse-making that keeps struggling clinics stuck Call...

In today's episode, I answer: "If a PT works 40 hours a week doing patient care, why does that only add up to 50K a year? Did clinical expertise stop being worth anything, or is this really about how insurance decides what your skills are worth?" "My PT wants a raise to offset the increased fuel costs for his long commute." 👉📘 Grab your FREE copy of any one of my six best-selling marketing books...

In today's episode I answer: “I’m going through a divorce and her lawyer wants the value of my business included in the settlement. On paper, I’ve built a successful clinic worth several million dollars. The problem is, that money doesn’t actually exist in my bank account. If I have to compensate her based on that valuation, I could end up giving away most of my cash and investments — leaving me w...

In today's episode I answer: “I'm taking my 12 staff to Cracker Barrel for lunch. Two are refusing because they say eating there conflicts with their values — and now they're trying to persuade the others not to go. Do I accommodate them… or tell them lunch is at 12? "My 28-Year-Old Therapist Has better Clinical Skills Than My 55-Year-Old Therapist, But Patients Only Want To Book With The Older On...

👉📘 Grab your FREE copy of any one of my six best-selling marketing books right here: https://physiofunnels.com/free/ 📲 Follow Paul here: 🎙️ Paul Gough Podcast – https://www.paulgough.com/podcast/ 📘 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ThePaulGough 📸 Instagram: @ThePaulGough 🎥 YouTube: Paul Gough Media 🐦 Twitter/X: @ThePaulGough 🌐 Website: https://www.paulgough.com/ Hosted on Acast. See acast...